Shark Kills Surfer in Australia

A 15-year-old surfer has died in the third fatal shark attack to occur in waters off South Australia in recent months. Australian authorities reported that "Kai Cowley was attacked by a large white shark on Thursday while surfing with his father off Ethil Beach in the remote York Peninsula, west of his hometown in Adelaide." He was brought to shore, but emergency services were unable to revive him. Two surfers lost their lives in separate shark attacks in remote areas of South Australia in May and October, and their bodies have not been recovered. South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas stated, "11 fatal shark attacks have occurred in the state's waters since 2000," noting that "there is not much the government can do to make beaches safer outside Adelaide, the state’s capital and most populated city." Outside the state, the death of a girl due to a shark in a river in Perth on the west coast in February was the only other fatal shark attack in Australia during 2023.